Panel retainers are used in large quantities to secure automotive door panels in place. The retainers have bases attached to the insides of the door panels and caps that extend above the bases to hold fasteners securing the panels to the sheet metal structure of the door. Extenders can be connected between the retainer caps and the fasteners for bridging varying spaces between the panel and the door.
The bases of such panel retainers can have barbs formed in a variety of shapes that can be pressed into a molded panel to hold the retainer in place with the caps spaced from the panel to receive a fastener. Pressed-in barbs are weaker than desirable, however, for panels molded of cellulose fiber and resin materials.
Retainers can also be molded into position on panels as they are formed, but this requires that the base region of the retainer be able to contain the material being molded under pressure to form the panel. It also requires that the base extend under the cap so that the molded material is not pressed against the underside of the cap, precluding attachment of a fastener to the cap. Superposing a cap over a continuous base has the disadvantage of extra material and manufacturing expense, however.
Another problem inadequately solved by prior art panel retainers for automotive doors is ways of bridging the varying distances between a panel and the sheet metal to which it is secured. Varying length "Christmas tree" fasteners and extensions for Christmas tree fasteners have been used for this, but these variations require costly tooling, again adding to the expense.
I have discovered a more versatile and reliable panel retainer that can be made at a low cost. It better serves the needs of the automotive industry for door panel retainers, and it can also be used for retaining panels in place for other purposes or for retaining in place other molded items having various shapes intended to be encompassed within the term "panel". My panel retainer can be either pressed into a premolded object or molded in place as an object or panel is formed. It also accommodates different height caps for bridging different distances to an anchorage.